Tozai Home & Tony Duquette

I spent most of the day at the World Market Center in Las Vegas looking for new trends and captivating new products. This seasons show was markedly toned down due to the economy but one standout was the Tozai Home showroom.



Dressed up in what I can only assume is an homage to designer Tony Duquette the showroom was a rich collage of color and texture highlighted by malachite wallpaper and faux coral everywhere.


Brightly colored pottery mixed with blue and white porcelain set the tone throughout the showroom.

A fabulous set of chairs covered in velvet leopard print where the focal point of the main window.



While Tozai does not carry any products designed by Duquette they are certainly in love with his aesthetic. They are the distributor on the West Coast for designer John Derian one of my fav's.




Here a table is set with one of Duquettes signature malachite patterned table cloths. His love of richly colored and textured surfaces prompted him to master the art of eclecticism. Mixing almost any material, pattern, period, etc. to great effect. His interiors where at once complicated yet at the same time comforting.



Over his long career he designed theatrical costumes, jewelry, movie sets, hotels and just about everything else you could think of. Here is a beautiful brooch he designed in his signature colors.


Duquettes own residence "Dawnridge" in Beverly Hills was a testament to style and dramatics. I've always loved this view looking down a long hallway to a somewhat satirical mural of a manservant at the end, ready to cater to the viewers every need. Fantasy seemed to be a way of life for the designer.


The design of his Malibu, California Ranch showed his deep love for Chinoiserie and high drama. Sadly it was destroyed by fire in 1993.




The recently released, self titled biography of Duquette, written by his long time creative partner Hutton Wilkinson, has been a rousing success. It's influence has been seen across the board in the design and retail marketplace with many a shop window styled to reflect his designs.




He says his objective in writing the book, which he also says was very difficult to get published due to an overall lack of interest by many publishing houses, was to chronicle the genius of his mentor and to show his talents to the world. While these kinds of books inspire many creative individuals and help to mold their own design signature, one famous design icon has taken it a bit too far. Apparently, Wilkinson is suing fashion designer Michael Kors for using Duqettes name and images from the book without permission to promote Kors new line of resort wear. It will be very interesting to see what the outcome of this lawsuit is.

I don't know the details but it is an age old question. Where does inspiration end and plagiarism begin?

Tony Duquette: Always in Fashion

It seems like Tony Duquette and Dawnridge will always be in fashion and fashion magazines. Harper's Bazaar shot a beautiful spread entitled Fresh Florals for the March 2008 issue which is interesting since they ran the stunning Reese Witherspoon photos of her at Dawnridge in the March 2007 issue. And not to be outdone is Saks Fifth Avenue, who shot much of their Spring 2008 catalog at the famous estate. It's easy to see why anyone would want to use the fabulous chinoiserie decor as a backdrop to even more fabulous clothing. It lends an exotic touch and the orange silk couches add a fun pop of color. Now if it would just warm up so we could wear spring clothes, we'd be all set!

Tony Duquette's Dawnridge

I know everyone says they are over Tony Duquette now but in case you're not, you can watch this video from Style.com where author and estate manager Hutton Wilkinson gives jewelry maker Liz Goldwyn the grand tour of the design legend's Beverly Hills estate. It's worth checking out just to see the vintage jewelry from the archives that Liz gets to try on!

Wendy Goodman + Tony Duquette = Perfection!

On December 1st, the new Tony Duquette book by Wendy Goodman and Hutton Wilkinson will finally be released! I know I for one can't wait! Recently, a friend of Ms. Goodman's was sweet enough to email me with Wendy's contact information so I could get her take on all the hoopla. Ronda at All the Best already conducted a wonderfully in depth interview with her so I just asked her a few questions and she couldn't have been nicer!

I'd love to know about your first meeting with Tony Duquette and what you thought about Dawnridge. I hear it was unbelievably amazing!

I met Tony while on assignment for House & Garden magazine (HG then)when I was originally there in early '90s doing a story on guestrooms and spied this wild, totally original piece of furniture in Hutton and Ruth Wilkinson's Los Angeles house. I hadn't ever heard of Tony Duquette, but asked Hutton, who was his business partner, if I could meet him on that trip. I ended up staying to produce a story on Tony's extraordinary Malibu ranch and that launched the odyssey of my working with him and Hutton to start imagining this book.

I know it took you 10 years to complete this book and I would love to know how you kept going! In this age of ADD and everyone moving on the next big thing it must have taken some serious discipline and patience!

Yes, it takes discipline and conviction to keep at a project that is so complex as there was so much archival material to unearth and edit...especially challenging for me as I had to go out to the west coast for research in between my deadlines for all the magazines I work with here in New York. What kept me going was my passion for Tony's work and the conviction that his story was unique and had to be told.

I was also wondering if you were involved with the planning of the windows at Bergdorf's. They are also amazing have been really well received in the city and online.

The incredible event of the Bergdorf Goodman Christmas windows is a dream come true! Linda Fargo and her amazing team headed up by David Hoey, produced the most extraordinary tribute to Tony's genius! I had nothing to do with the windows what so ever except to be dazzled and awed that they are beyond magical!

Wendy also mentioned that they have already sold out of the luxury edition at Bergdorf's and the regular book is being rushed into a second printing! Better get your copy today!

New Blogger Friend

I remember when Ronda at All the Best first profiled my blog, she said felt like she had stumbled on a kindred spirit in the blogging world and that's how I felt when I stumbled upon Maison21! Christian May started his blog just like all of us to give himself a place to discuss all of his obsessions so as not to continue to bore his friends any longer. I know everyone will be glad that he did. His blog is witty and informative and if you need to know how to clean chrome, Christian is your go-to guy.

"I'm just a interior decorating obsessive with a lifelong vintage furniture shopping addiction (seriously, when I got my drivers license as a teen, my very first solo driving expedition was to the salvation army). I went back to school (product design) as an adult and took an internship with a high end residential design firm which led to getting hired and leaving school. I've been fortunate to work on some incredibly fantastic projects while working for other designers, a few of which have been published (one of my first projects as an intern was to design a mantle surround to showcase a giant Dubuffet painting. I had to pinch myself). Now I mostly sell the tchotchkes and do the occasional design job, indulging both my passions. I get to work surrounded by pretty things every day, who could ask for more?

Christian sells fabulous antiques on eBay and out of his garage that I must say looks better than the inside of most people's homes. He also recently sold a bunch of blanc de chine-esque and brass pieces to David Hoey, Bergdorf's display guru, and he thinks some of the items might have made it into the new Tony Duquette inspired holiday windows. And if that's not enough to impress you, he also once attended a private birthday party at Dawnridge. Even though most of the original furnishings were gone by that time, he said it was still amazing and memorable. See, I told you you would like him!

Duquette Inspired?

I was going to promise that this is my last Tony Duquette related post but I don't think I can make any guarantees. There is just so much to talk about where Mr. Duquette is concerned. I came across the photo above of one of his nameless interiors and I was struck by the framed Asian painting or wallpaper on the left side of the room and the pagoda and vases of pink flowers that stand on the table beneath it. I kept thinking I had seen something very similar and then I realized it was on the cover of Michael S. Smith's Elements of Style book. I know that are not a perfect match but it's funny how much they looked alike. Michael's book is actually one design book I don't own so I'm not sure if he admits to a Duquette inspiration or if it was just a coincidence. Either way, I think it's interesting and inspiring none the less.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

As I was saying before my computer decided to stage a revolt, I attended the launch of the Tony Duquette book and the holiday window unveiling party at Bergdorf Goodman Wednesday night. The windows were inspired by Tony Duquette and all I can say is the Bergdorf's has outdone themselves! They always have the most elegant, stylish, creative, interesting holiday windows but these are beyond beautiful. The leopard carpet was pretty crowded so I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked. I think I may have to go back and take more detail shots because there is so much to look at and take in. I think the elephant might be my favorite.

The party was obviously the social event of the holiday season since it was packed to the gills with the fashionable and the fabulous. Linda Fargo of Bergdorf's looked amazing in her Duquette inspired ensemble. There were also a bevy of designers there to buy the special $250 limited edition boxed Tony Duquette book. I saw Antony Todd, John Barman and Steven Gambrel, who my friend and I chatted up. He really is the nicest man. Even Caroline Kennedy and her husband showed up!

If you happen to be in New York over the holidays, you must make a special trip to see the windows at Bergdorf's! And if you can't, you must definitely buy the Tony Duquette book. Either way, you will definitely be inspired by the most creative man who ever lived!